Finland issues its fourth National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security

Finland’s new National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security was published on 13 March. This is Finland’s fourth National Action Plan (NAP), extending from 2023 to the end of 2027. The NAP is the result of a broad-based stakeholder collaboration. Its key objective is to strengthen women’s participation in the area of peace and security, and thereby support efforts to build sustainable peace.

The NAP is based on United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 on Women, Peace and Security. The aim of the Resolution and the nine additional resolutions is to enhance women’s role and decision-making power in conflict prevention, conflict resolution and peacebuilding and to significantly improve women’s security and factors influencing their security in conflicts. Finland is strongly committed to the Women, Peace and Security agenda and to its promotion. Finland’s NAP defines our priorities and guides our activities in implementing Resolution 1325.

The five main objectives of Finland’s fourth NAP are:

1. Women’s meaningful participation and diversity have a stronger role in conflict prevention and in building sustainable peace.
2. Women’s leadership, meaningful participation and diversity and gender mainstreaming have a stronger role in peace processes and mediation.
3. Women’s meaningful participation and diversity and the gender perspective are better integrated into security, preparedness and crisis management.
4. Women and girls have more security, their rights are better safeguarded and their diverse needs are better met during crises.
5. The Women, Peace and Security agenda is better implemented and context sensitivity has a stronger role in national and international action.

Progress in achieving the NAP objectives will be monitored on a regular basis and a report will be published every year on the NAP implementation.

Finland’s fourth NAP was prepared in close collaboration with different branches of government and the civil society. The NAP was prepared and it will be implemented by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Education and Culture, the Ministry of Defence, the Defence Forces, the Ministry of the Interior and the Crisis Management Centre operating under its purview, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, and the Ministry of the Environment.

The partners committed to the NAP implementation are CMI – Martti Ahtisaari Peace Foundation, the Finn Church Aid, the Political Parties of Finland for Democracy (Demo Finland), the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Mission (Felm), the Finnish Refugee Council, the Finnish Red Cross and the Family Federation of Finland. In addition, a large number of other research institutes and civil society organisations are involved in promoting the NAP objectives.

The Swedish and English versions of the NAP will be published later this spring.

• Finland’s National Action Plan (in Finnish)